by Emily James
He gave me that dimpled smile that turned my brain to mush. His gaze dropped to my lips. “But there’s still a lot more I’d like to know.”
The doorbell rang, and we both jumped.
Mark slumped back against the couch cushions. “It’s like we’re in a sitcom or something.”
The bell rang again, and I hopped up. The jitters running through my body now had nothing to do with fear. The quicker I could deal with whoever was at the door, the better.
I peeked through the peephole. Stacey Rathmell stood on my front steps, one hand twisted in the other.
Part of me wanted to leave her on my steps and go back to the safety of Mark’s arms. I was tired of people attacking me, verbally or otherwise.
But that would be the coward’s way out.
I opened the door, and Stacey dropped her hands to her sides, stiff like maple trunks.
“I owe you an apology,” she said before I could even ask what she was doing here. “I was upset over Noah and my dad, and you didn’t deserve it.”
One of the things I’d read in Uncle Stan’s Bible was that I should forgive people because I’d been forgiven. I didn’t want to. When the house was quiet and I was alone, I could still hear her words in my ears, and I had a hard enough time liking myself without anyone else laying indictments at my feet.
I sucked in a deep breath and glanced back over my shoulder at Mark on the couch. He’d turned in the direction of the door, there if I needed him, and the expression on his face was one that said he believed I’d forgive her. It spoke volumes about the kind of person he thought I was. It almost seemed silly that I’d questioned it.
If I didn’t forgive her, I’d be one step closer to becoming the person she’d accused me of being and one step farther away from the person Mark saw when he looked at me.
“I forgive you.” Somehow saying the words made me feel them a little more. “You were in one of the worst possible positions I could imagine.”
She nodded once, sharply. “Thanks.”
She walked down the steps. I had the door half closed when she turned around and came back.
The end of her ponytail lay over her shoulder, and she fiddled with the tips of her hair, making her look a lot younger than eighteen.
“I’m pregnant,” she blurted. “It’s Noah’s and I want to keep it. My parents want me to give the baby up for adoption, but I want it. I can handle this.”
I held on tight to the doorknob and ordered my mouth not to droop open. I didn’t know whether to congratulate her on the new life or console her for how she was going to have to bring it into the world. And a little voice in the back of my head whispered that there was an ask coming.
Stacey huffed in air like she’d forgotten to breathe. “Noah’s house is empty now, and you’ll want a new mechanic-handyman. I don’t know a lot about the stuff you need fixed around here, but I know a lot about cars and I’m a quick learner. I could learn to work the store or the pancake house, too, if you wanted. I’d earn my spot.”
I held up my hand to try to slow down the tide of words, but she didn’t seem to even see it.
“I don’t want to work around the fumes in my dad’s shop while I’m pregnant, but I’m going to need a job if I want to keep my baby.”
The flow of words stopped abruptly, and she stood there looking much too young to be a soon-to-be single mom on her own. To her credit, she didn’t try to guilt me into giving her the job by reminding me that Noah had died protecting me. That show of grace and maturity convinced me that taking her on was the right decision.
Russ was probably going to be cheesed that I’d hired a replacement for Noah without consulting him, but he’d have done the same thing if Stacey asked him. “Will you need help moving your stuff in?”
The way her face lit up burned away any lingering anger or unforgiveness I had toward her. It must have taken a lot for her to humble herself by asking for help from me, who she’d verbally lambasted less than a week ago.
She shook her head, sending her long ponytail swishing. “My dad agreed to help me move, even though this isn’t the choice he would have made. My parents love me, and I know they’ll love my baby once it’s here.”
I’d no doubt she was right. Now that I knew she was pregnant, Tony’s desire to “make peace” with Noah made more sense. A baby changed everything.
I told Stacey to wait a minute, and I went around behind the door to where Noah’s set of keys hung on my key rack. I brought them back and handed them to her. “You can move in as soon as you’re ready, and you can start tomorrow if you want.”
She dipped her head. “I really appreciate it.”
When I closed the door and turned around, Mark stood at the kitchen counter with a plastic container in his hand. He plopped both of our cell phones into it and stuffed it in the fridge.
I stopped on the far side of the kitchen island. “What are you doing?”
Instead of answering, he came around the island, wrapped his uninjured arm around my waist, and kissed me—slow and warm, and better than any of my daydreams.
He finally let me go and grinned down at me. “The phones might have rung. I wasn’t taking any more chances.”
Bonus Recipe: Nancy’s Make-at-Home Maple Butter
Because of how essential the right temperature is to this recipe, it’s a good idea to calibrate your candy thermometer before you start and adjust the temperature in the recipe accordingly.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons corn syrup
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.Fill your sink with enough cold water that it will come 1/3 of the way up your pot when you lower the pot into the sink later in the recipe. You don’t want your pot to float or water to overflow into your mixture.
2.In a large pot, bring the maple syrup and corn syrup to a boil over medium heat. Stir occasionally. Be careful not to let it burn!
3.Cook the syrup mixture until a candy thermometer reads exactly 232 F (112 C).
4.Remove the pot from the heat, and lower it into the cold water in your sink.
5.Allow the mixture to cool until it reaches 70 F (20 C). This takes about 30 minutes.
6.Remove the pot from the water bath.
7.Using an electric mixer, beat the syrup mixture on high speed until it turns creamy and thick. This takes about 3 minutes. (You’ll also want a strong mixer for this step.)
8.Scoop the mixture into a container, cover, and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.
Extra Tip: If the maple butter is too firm to spread straight from the fridge, allow it to come to room temperature before serving.
Maple Syrup Mysteries Box Set 2: Books 4-6
Follow former lawyer Nicole Fitzhenry Dawes through over 700 pages of new murders and mayhem in award-winning author Emily James’ Maple Syrup Mysteries.
The second Maple Syrup Mysteries box set includes books 4-6: Murder on Tap, Deadly Arms, and Capital Obsession.
Get your copy of Maple Syrup Mysteries Box Set 2 today!
Letter from the Author
Thank you so much for going on this journey alongside me and Nicole and Mark. I had so much fun writing these books, and I hope you had fun reading them. The series continues on in Book 4, Murder on Tap or you can get the next three books in Maple Syrup Mysteries Box Set 2.
If you’d like to know as soon as future books release, please sign up for my newsletter at http://smarturl.it/emilyjames. As a thank you gift for signing up, you’ll receive an ebook copy of the prequel, Sapped. In this novella, I reveal everything about what happened to sour Nicole on being a lawyer and make her wary of married men.
If you liked the books in this box set, it’d mean a lot to me if you also took a minute to leave a quick review. Even a sentence is great! Reviews help me sell more books (which allows me to keep writing them), and they also help fellow readers know if these are books they might enjoy.
Love,
Em
ily
About the Author
Emily James grew up watching TV shows like Matlock, Monk, and Murder She Wrote. (It’s pure coincidence that they all begin with an M.) It was no surprise to anyone when she turned into a mystery writer.
She loves cats, dogs, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee…lots and lots of cats, too. Seriously, there’s hardly room in the bed for her husband. While they only have one dog, she’s a Great Dane, so she should count as at least two.
If you’d like to know as soon as Emily’s next mystery releases, please join her newsletter list at www.smarturl.it/emilyjames.
She also loves hearing from readers.
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